So What Is Arduino Exactly?

This is in the one of the most common questions I get asked and today I’d like to answer that for you!

Let’s dig in…

Arduino is actually the name of the company that really started the entire maker movement in the early 2000’s.

It was started by 4 friends in Italy that decided to create an electronics platform which could be used by both engineers and hobbyists without the need for a PHD in rocket science.

The first board they released is called the Arduino UNO, meaning the number one in Italian. That’s the board you see here on the left.

Over time, it became apparent that customers wanted a smaller form factor of the same board and so the Arduino Nano was born. That’s the board you see above on the right.

Believe it or not, they both are exactly the same! One is just smaller than the other.

But What Is It In Laymen Terms?

Have a look again at the photo above, specifically at where the numbers 1 and 2 are.

That right there, is the reason the electronic world around us exists, not just Arduino.

Let me explain…

Those numbered components are called micro controllers (sometimes referred to as a micro or MCU).

Think of it like a tiny, brain which you program to make it do whatever you want using a programming language called C.

It can also be programmed in C++ but that’s a story for another time.

Inside of these micros are microscopic transistors.

If you’re not familiar with what a transistor is, think of it like a switch.

It’s the building blocks of every electronic gadget you own!

And manufacturers can fit a mind boggling amount of these into these tiny packages.

When I say mind boggling, I mean numbers ranging from a few hundred, to a few hundred THOUSAND all inside of something no bigger than the size of your pinky nail.

In reality, its much smaller than that, but you get the idea, they can fit a ton in a really small area.

Now… these transistors are arraigned in a very specific way to provide very specific functionality.

They can do everything from lighting simple LED’s to controlling sophisticated motors in your drone and everything in between.

Prior to Arduino hitting the scene, if you wanted to get into electronics and start using microcontrollers, you needed an electrical engineering degree.

And then you needed to swim through miles upon miles of documentation for that particular micro.

Through a lot of trial and error you could eventually get your mirco to do some pretty awesome stuff.

But as you can imagine, development was ssslllloooowwwwww.

I’m talking a sloth could swim across the English channel 12 times before you could get it to light a simple LED.

Thankfully, Arduino came along just in time!

ENTER ARDUINO!

When Arduino hit the scene they wanted to simplify all of this, they wanted a system so easy to use that anyone could make amazing electronic projects in minutes not months!

In order to do this, they had to create a simple to use piece of hardware (Uno and Nano) and made it into the standard form factor you saw earlier.

Next, they simplified the programming language and also the program you use to actually do your programming called the IDE. (see image below)

Thanks to Arduino, making any electronic idea come to life is really simple.

But this is literally just scratching the surface, there’s just soooo much more to the wonderful world of arduino.

And the cool part is, even if you have never touched electronics or coding before ANYONE of ANY skill level can jump right in and start creating some pretty incredible projects in just a few hours.

How you ask??

Well, that’s the secret sauce and sadly, the HARD part.

These days given the billions of videos on youtube, countless kits on Amazon and now the new kid on the block, chatGPT, where do you even begin?

It can feel absolutely overwhelming.

But what if I told you there’s a very straight forward way to get started which is 100% guaranteed to not just get you started on your Arduino and coding journey but also have you thrive along the way.

Would you jump at that opportunity?

If you said yes, then I want to personally invite you to check out what I call Dr.Duino’s Maker Academy made by yours truly.

It’s 100+ hours of binge worthy content which will take you from zero to Arduino super hero in no time flat.

From getting your computer setup to learning how to code in just 15 minutes per day to building your very own Satellite Hunter and everything in between, I guarantee this is the very best way to dip your toe into Arduino!

So if you’re interested in finally getting started with electronics and coding then click the link below to start your 7 Day FREE trial of Dr.Duino’s Maker academy.

Oh and when you sign up for the premium, I’ll even send you an IoT E-Book ($50 Value) completely FREE!

Click here to claim your 7 Day Free Trial NOW!